


Blind Date

by kokofas



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Friendship, M/M, Romance, at least romantic intention at first, idk I'm sorry I'm not sure what I wrote, platonic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-10 23:12:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,876
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5604520
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kokofas/pseuds/kokofas
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tim Drake and Damian Wayne go on a blind date, not realizing they had already been on one a few years back. (AU)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Blind Date

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what I write half the time.  
> This is an AU where they aren't vigilante, but normal people, and strangers.

It was a Friday night, precisely 7:41 in the evening, and Damian was already _bored_ with his date. Not only was he bored, but he also had the sneaking feeling that he had been on this date before. For some reason, he felt like he had been to this same restaurant, with the same man, talking about the same things, before- and if he didn’t know how crazy that must have sounded in reality, he would have voiced it to the person sitting opposite him.

It mainly seemed crazy to him because the person currently sitting opposite from him, Tim Drake, who was listing off all the reasons bottled water was much healthier than tap water to their extremely patient waiter, did not seem familiar _at all_ , despite him being considerably attractive. He had no memory of ever seeing this man’s face, with its high cheekbones, blue eyes and soft black hair that was constantly carelessly brushed away as he chattered about whatever the hell he was talking about.

He waited for his date’s debate with the waiter to end, noting that his date had won after the waiter brought back bottles of water and placed them on the table silently, and then he waited for his date to stop talking about- well he wasn’t sure what he was talking about; he’d zoned out somewhere around Tim’s active comparison between two scientific theories he couldn’t care to recognize, before interrupting suddenly.

“Sorry- I’m sorry, Tim, but I can’t help but feel like I’ve been on this date before and it is making me quite perturbed.” Damian frowned, trying to focus his brain on remembering, before a groan escaped the man on the other end of the table. He raised his head to look at him, watching as he rubbed his hands on his face.

“Oh my god.” His date stated, before looking at him. “I’ve been on this date before. I knew I recognized you you- you’re the guy who wouldn’t even speak a word for the entirety of the date!”

“You’re that person who wouldn’t _shut up_ for the entirety of the date.” Damian retaliated, gaining a gasp from the man sitting opposite rom him.

“ _Excuse_ you, I was just trying to fill the silence because you kept zoning out all the time- like you’re doing on this date too!” Tim protested, causing Damian to roll his eyes.

“Zoning out is the only thing a person can _do_ , all you do is talk about science-“

“Science is great!”

“It’s not great enough to be a date topic,” Damian deadpanned, causing his date to sigh.

“Okay, okay, let’s back up a little. First of all, how did we end up meeting each other again?” Tim asked, frowning in confusion.

“We must have gone full circle. We must have both been so desperate we went through every single person in Gotham.” Damian concluded, Tim snorting and waving him away.

“No way, a guy that looks like you could never run out of people to go on dates with.”

“I’m flattered, but you would be surprised.” Damian huffed, twirling the fork in his hand idly.

“Come on, let’s be real here. You have so much game it is quite possible you’ve actually robbed everybody else on earth from their game and absorbed it into this vessel you now occupy.” Damian struggled to stifle the laugh that threatened to escape at that, shaking his head in amusement. He glanced at his date to catch him grinning as well, and he briefly thought that the man was actually very handsome when he wasn’t talking your ear off with facts.

“Okay, so.” Tim began, “If I remember well, the last date was a disaster-“

“We each left in separate cabs.” Damian pointed out, smirking in amusement as the memories began to come back to him.

“Oh my god, and _you_ left before I even managed to catch one!” Tim gasped in indignation, scowling as he glared at the younger man.

“Tim, can you blame me?” Damian raised an eyebrow, smirking as Tim’s expression turned thoughtful, then resigned.

“True.” The other man mumbled, before straightening up again, “Anyway, since we have the entirety of tonight to _sorta_ hit the restart button, how about we get out of here, go somewhere that doesn’t resemble the last date, and try to remember why we hated each other so much 5 years ago.”

“That,” Damian paused as he mulled over the suggestion, “is actually a good idea.” He offered a rare smile to the man who was now hastily putting on his coat, and left a few bills on the table before leaving after him.

* * *

“Tacos in the park, can’t get any more different.” Tim smirked as he settled down on the grass, taking a bite from his taco as Damian sat down beside him with a rather disgusted expression on his face.

“How do you know this isn’t poisonous?” He asked, his face completely serious as the man beside him laughed lightly. He sighed as Tim offered him no reply, and he thought briefly about the amount of jokes his siblings would crack if they could see him at that moment, but he quickly brushed it off as his date made a noise that signified he was preparing to speak again

“So,” Tim began, “I’ll start with something I hated. I hated that you kept checking your phone every, like, five minutes on our last date.”

“I had a lot of work to do.” Damian shrugged, before sighing as Tim stared him down with an unconvinced expression. “Okay, I actually was really bored and decided to text a friend to pass the time.”

Tim gasped, laughing as he slapped Damian’s arm playfully, “That is the rudest thing anybody has ever admitted to doing!”

“You kept listing off facts the entire time, it’s like you’re Buzzfeed or something, except even _more_ boring.”

“I am actually offended right now.” Tim said, though Damian had the sense he was joking judging from the grin he was sporting, “I’d like to believe I’m a little more credible than _Buzzfeed_ , thank you very much.” He shook his head, “Okay, so, besides me being the human Buzzfeed, what else did you hate on that date?”

“Let me think,” Damian trailed off before clicking his fingers, turning to look at his date. “You didn’t do the check dance.”

“The check dance?” Tim laughed unsurely,

“Yeah!” Damian cried, “It’s what you do when you ask for the check. You both have to argue over who gets to pay the bill.”

“That’s stupid! You picked the place, you pay!” Tim protested as he poked Damian’s upper arm with his index finger, and Damian briefly noted how much the man seemed to touch him now that they weren’t in the restaurant, although he figured it wasn’t a conscious effort.

“Using that logic, you should have paid for this taco.” He said, pointing to the taco in his hand.

“It’s a taco!” Tim exclaimed.

Alright, whatever.” Damian moved from the subject, another thought quickly coming to him. “Oh yeah, you talk way too much about _books_ -“

“It’s good conversation material!”

“It is _not_ good conversation material, Tim. Second, you ordered a _salad_ the last time we were at that restaurant-“

“I’m a vegetarian and their vegetarian options are pathetic!” Tim protested, laughing as Damian rolled his eyes, “You are a very rude person, Mr. Wayne.”

“Hey, can’t handle me, don’t agree to go out with me.” Damian smirked.

“If I _knew_ you were the same person then trust me I wouldn’t have done it again.” Tim pointed his tongue at him, Damian instinctively grinning at the maturity of the move, before watching Tim melt into a small smile. “At least, I wouldn’t have if I thought we wouldn’t do something like this.” He shrugged, bunching up the wrapper that had surrounded his taco into a small ball of paper.

“What do you mean?” Damian smiled down at the man.

“Well, this feels more natural, you know?” Tim began, turning to look at him, “Dates are always so constructed and stressful, I’m happy this one is turning out to be…spontaneous.” He raised a shoulder with the last word before letting it fall, his eyes watching Damian’s, and Damian finally decided that the man in front of him was very, very pretty, now that he wasn’t trying so hard at anything.

“Want to do something slightly illegal?” He asked, amused at the bewilderment in Tim’s blue eyes, and the other man quickly started explaining that he didn’t do drugs, that he still respected Damian even if he was _into those kinds of things_ , and Damian’s sudden loud laughter quieting him down. “No, no- no drugs. I was thinking more, sneak into a corporate building, hang out there when it’s completely empty and dark.”

“That is a really creepy idea,” Tim stated, mulling over it for a little before grinning mischievously, “Can we do it?”

* * *

“What if we get caught?” Tim asked nervously as they approached the locked backdoor of a huge building of some corporation, looking behind him uneasily to make sure nobody could see them.

“We’re not going get caught,” Damian rolled his eyes. “It’s exactly like sneaking out of the house as a kid.”

“Well, I never really managed to do that, my grandmother had some super sixth sense and would always stay up when I had plans.”

“Grandma?” Damian asked, “You lived with your grandparents?” Tim nodded,

“For the better part of my childhood; while my father worked overseas.”

“What about your mother?” Damian looked back at the shorter man as his hands worked on unlocking the rusting door. Despite what one might thing, most corporations barely had enough security on their back exits, and sneaking in through them was sometimes alarmingly easy.

“She died,” Tim shrugged, which Damian didn’t see as he had his eye fixed to the lock he was picking now, and after a few turns here and there, a soft click announced the unlocking of the door. “Let’s go in before somebody sees us.” He said, passing by Damian and starting to climb the staircase.

Damian watched the man walk ahead of him for a second, then quickly followed, making sure to close the door firmly behind the two of them. They reached a creaky elevator, one that the cleaning crew probably used, and boarded it.

“So what is our destination?” Tim asked.

“Take us to the top, captain.” Damian replied, grinning as Tim smiled widely and clicked the button for the biggest number on the panel.

“Any idea what’s actually there?” The older man asked as he leaned against the mirror situated at the back of the elevator, head to the side to look at his companion.

“Can’t ruin the surprise, now can I?” Damian chuckled. He thought over what Tim had told him, and with a more somber tone said, “I’m sorry about your mother.”

“It’s alright,” Tim waved him off, “Was so long ago, I don’t even really remember her anymore…” He trailed off, eyes lifted to watch the fluorescent elevator lights, and Damian couldn’t help but notice the sad smile on his lips.

The elevator dinged, and the doors slid open to reveal a dark hallway, the hum of some server clear in the silence of the closed floor. Tim flashed him a childish grin, before Damian was taking Tim’s hand and leading him to the very end of the hallway, to a glass room with a conference table inside of it. Smirking, he opened the glass door wide open for his date, gesturing for the man to go in.

“I present to you, the conference hall with the best view in the city of Gotham.”

“Did you go through every conference hall to decide that?” Tim asked as he walked in, grinning as he took in the long, polished, conference table and wheeled-chairs.

“Maybe.” Damian smirked, letting the door close as he followed Tim, tapping him on the shoulder and gesturing to the large window at the end of the room, offering a view of the entirety of the sleepless Gotham.

“I never realized how many lights are on at the same moment,” Tim began, “I wonder how much energy that wastes.”

“There you go, yet another Unattractive Date Topic by Tim Drake.” Damian said, grinning as Tim pouted at him. He brought two wheeled-chairs for the both of them, facing the city lights outside, and sat down, his date following suit.

“So if all my topics are boring, what are interesting date topics?” Tim asked, lifting an amused eyebrow as he watched the younger man’s face turn thoughtful.

“World domination?” Damian offered, gaining a snort from Tim before rolling his eyes, “I’m kidding. I don’t know, I think it’s better to tell your date about yourself instead of facts they could easily google.” He shrugged.

“Hm.” Tim hummed in amusement, causing Damian to raise a questioning eyebrow.

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just…” Tim paused, turning towards the million glowing windows of Gotham as his eyes searched for words in them, “I didn’t think anyone would give enough of a damn to actually want to hear about me.”

“That’s bullshit,” Damian scoffed, trying to search for a way to compliment the man without losing too much of his own personal pride. “You… you may be a walking-talking encyclopedia, but you’re an interesting one.” He finally offered, quickly averting his gaze so the other man would be in his blind spot.

“Aw, how heartwarming.” Tim cooed, then laughed at Damian’s expression. “For what it’s worth, you’re not all that bad yourself. I mean, you have horrible date manners and you need to smile a little more, but you have some decent date spots if I may say so myself.”

“Thank you for the unprompted feedback.” Damian retorted, struggling to keep a poker face as Tim laughed beside him.

“Honestly, how do you ever land anyone with that attitude?” He asked, turning to face the younger man again, who shrugged and shifted his eyes to observe his own pants,

“I guess I don’t,” He said, huffing, “At least not the ones that I care for ‘landing’”

“Wait,” Tim said, “You like someone?” his tone was gentler, and Damian thought he heard a little understanding in his tone.

“He’s my… colleague.”

“What’s his name?” Tim asked.

“Dick. Dick Grayson. He works with me in Wayne Enterprises, but… he just, he would never see me like that.” He sighed in defeat, his shoulders falling.

“You don’t know that,” Tim disagreed.

“I do.”

“Well, even so, people change all the time. Maybe one day he’ll start seeing you the way you see him, maybe not, but sitting around and going on stupid blind dates, instead of going to the person you have feelings for and telling him about it isn’t going to do you any favors.” Tim shrugged, “Take it from me, if you let him get away, you won’t stop regretting it.” He gave a sheepish smile, and Damian was almost certain there was a story behind that statement but his mind was already distracted, because despite what he wanted to believe, the man he was currently sitting in a closed office with was right, and he suddenly couldn’t bear to be sitting here any longer.

“Tim?” He began.

“Hmm?” The man in question responded.

“You’re a great, great, guy, but-“

“But you don’t like tacos or unspoken date rules and I don’t like tap water and don’t hang out in conference rooms for fun?” Tim cut him off, “I get it. This was fun, but you already found the person you’re looking for, and I still need to keep looking.”

“Yeah.” Damian said simply, watching as the man sitting beside him smiled wider, a little more honestly than he had the entire night. “That person that got away,” He started, “What was his name?”

“Connor.” Tim answered.

“Did you ever try to get him back?” He asked curiously, and Tim chuckled dryly.

“By the time I realized that I loved him, he was calling me to tell me that he was getting married.”

 Damian frowned at that, and before he could think twice about it, he was leaning in and kissing the man full on the lips, and the kiss didn’t have a spark or anything, it had a completely different feel to it. As the two men walked down the stairs together and into the dark street lit by a few yellow lights, Damian realized that this man, the same man he had met twice, and hated twice, had become a friend, a very peculiar kind of friend.

“If it’s any comfort, I think Connor’s an idiot to not be with you.” Damian said as they stood outside of the metal backdoor of the corporate, and his lips twitched as the man opposite from him laughed softly.

“Maybe.” Tim took a deep breath, his hand squeezing Damian’s for the final time before releasing it. “Goodbye, Damian. I hope we don’t wind up on another blind date 5 years from now.”

Damian laughed as he watched the man turn around walk away, muttering a low “I hope so too.” as the man rounded the corner, and disappeared.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy new year I guess?
> 
> One day I'll write a timdami that actually has more than a quick kiss, promise. 
> 
> Hope you liked this random oneshot?


End file.
